2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Fruitful Endeavors: Continuous Peer Feedback to Develop Positive Team Dynamics

Presented at First-Year Programs Division (FPD) Technical Session 4: Fostering Belonging - Identity, Self-Efficacy, and Retention

This complete evidence-based practice paper presents an analysis of the student team dynamics within first-year engineering courses that integrate design, problem-solving, and algorithmic thinking at a medium-sized private urban university. These courses incorporate hands-on, team-based, and project-driven design work. The goal is to offer students an authentic experience that fosters process-driven problem-solving skills. A particular focus within this context is the development and application of effective teamwork skills.
This paper addresses the challenges faced by first-year students in team-based projects, with a focus on issues such as unequal workload distribution, communication breakdowns, and free-riding. We will explore existing research on team dynamics and evaluate the use of software for continuous peer feedback as an intervention. The literature review will emphasize the importance of timely and constructive peer feedback in promoting a healthy team environment, particularly in terms of communication and accountability.
In previous iterations of the course, students were required to create a team contract that addressed key concerns about team dynamics. These contracts were informed by both in-class discussions and structured prompts within a template. At the end of the project, individual reflections focused on lessons learned, with specific prompts related to team dynamics. However, these reflections often came too late to influence team communication and behaviors, resulting in continued perceptions of unequal workload distribution and negative views on teamwork.
To address this, a peer feedback system was introduced in 2023 and expanded in 2024. This system collects both quantitative data (via Likert scale surveys) and qualitative data (via open-ended responses) to provide real-time insights into team dynamics. The goal is to facilitate ongoing reflection and adjustment throughout the semester.
The purpose of this paper is to analyze student reflections and feedback to identify improvements in team performance, collaboration, and individual contributions. The overarching objective is to establish a foundation for enhancing team dynamics, motivation, and learning outcomes in first-year engineering projects while mitigating common challenges associated with teamwork. Additionally, the paper will describe the use of the software in various projects and analyze the outcomes, offering recommendations for broader implementation. While acknowledging the complexity and nuance of team dynamics, we anticipate that this research will establish a baseline for improving motivation and addressing teamwork challenges in first-year engineering courses.

Authors

Brian Patrick O'Connell http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6626-256X Northeastern University [biography]

Dr. O'Connell is an associate teaching professor in the First-Year Engineering program at Northeastern University. He studied at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 2006 then worked in industry as a Mechanical Engineer working on ruggedized submarine optronic systems. He returned to academia in 2011 at Tufts University planning to work towards more advanced R&D but fell for engineering education and educational technologies. His research now focuses on developing engineering technologies and learning environments, specifically makerspaces, to support engineering education at many levels. He's also heavily involved with his local FIRST Robotics Challenge team as a mentor.
Dr. Kathryn Schulte Grahame http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9990-2255 Northeastern University [biography]

Dr. Kathryn Schulte Grahame is a Teaching Professor at Northeastern University and the Associate Director of the First-Year Engineering Team at Northeastern University. The focus of this team is on providing a consistent, comprehensive, and constructive educational experience that endorses the student-centered, professional and practice-oriented mission of Northeastern University. She teaches the Cornerstone of Engineering courses to first-year students as well as courses within the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department. She is a recipient of the Martin Essigman Outstanding Teahing award, the Excellence in Mentoring Award, and the Outstanding Teacher of First-Year Students Award. Her research interests include service learning and work that informs and enhances the teaching of first-year students.
Dr. Richard Whalen Northeastern University [biography]

Dr. Richard Whalen is a Teaching Professor at Northeastern University in Boston, MA and is Director of First-year Engineering. The mission of the First-year Engineering team is to provide a reliable, wide-ranging, and constructive educational experience that endorses the student-centered and professionally-oriented mission of the University. He also teaches specialty courses in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at Northeastern and has published and presented papers on approaches and techniques in engineering education.
Prof. Constantine Mukasa http://orcid.org/https://0000-0002-1851-8073 Northeastern University [biography]

Dr. Constantine Mukasa received a B.S. degree in Computer Engineering from Bethune-Cookman University, Daytona Beach, Florida, USA in 2007, and his M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida, USA, in 2013 and 2017, respectively. He is currently an Associate Professor at Northeastern University in Boston, MA. His research interests include Engineering Education, Wireless Communications, satellite and mobile communication Systems, vehicular networks, Wireless network connectivity, and interference modeling.
Dr. Susan F Freeman Northeastern University [biography]

Susan Freeman, is a member of Northeastern University’s First-Year Engineering team, a group of teaching faculty expressly devoted to the first-year engineering students and development of courses and curriculum to serve the program at Northeastern University. The focus of this team is on providing a consistent, comprehensive, and constructive educational experience that endorses the student-centered, professional and practice-oriented mission of Northeastern University. Susan has been part of ASEE and the First-year Programs Division for many years, serving in all leadership roles. She is also on the leadership team for the College of Engineering as Associate Dean for Teaching, Learning and Experiential Education.

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 22, 2025, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 25, 2025

« View session